One official at the meeting said the only reason the board voted unanimously to table it was because there weren't enough votes to approve the merger.
Bureau Chairman Michael Knowles said within the next 30 days he plans to conduct a meeting with the various CVB's constituencies, such as the hotels, the Exhibit Hall Authority, Cobb Chamber of Commerce and Cobb Government, to talk more about the merger.
"We then plan to take any revised proposal back to the CVB Board for their consideration," said Knowles, CEO of Northwest Bank & Trust.
Knowles, who was appointed to the CVB by the Authority, proposed the merger at the board's Aug. 25 meeting, saying it would streamline operations, giving the Bureau more bang for its buck.
Another Authority appointee to the CVB board, Jim Rhoden, president of Futren Corporation, has been a vocal supporter of the merger.
"I've seen our economics, our cash flow, continue to dwindle because of the economics. I have seen that we are in need of much stronger leadership than we've had, and I feel, given the demonstrated success of the Cobb Energy Centre and the Convention Center, that the Authority has demonstrated their ability to manage and to incorporate and be successful with county public property. The CVB is a public property, and I think they could give us the leadership we need," Rhoden said.
The CVB was formed as an arm of the Chamber to promote tourism in 1987. It separated from the Chamber to have an independent board in the early 1990s and is under a five-year agreement with the Exhibit Hall Authority that expires in September 2011. The Authority funds 85 percent of the Bureau's $1.1 million budget through county hotel/motel tax collections. The remaining 15 percent comes from general membership fees from its about 250 members, officials say.
The Exhibit Hall Authority was created in 1980 by the General Assembly and operates the Cobb Galleria Centre, Cobb Energy Per-forming Arts Centre and its foundation, and Galleria Specialty Mall. It had a 2009 budget of $32 million.
CVB board member Frank Quallen, general manager of Atlanta Marriott Northwest, said the hoteliers are opposed to the Authority taking over the CVB.
"The consensus is it's not a good thing," Quallen said.
There is a history of "bad blood" between the CVB and Authority as well as the Authority and hoteliers, he said.
"There hasn't been a real solid working relationship there that's really worked. There's been tension between the two for a long time," he said.
The concern is that while the CVB has members representing the hotel community on its board, the Authority does not, he said. The Authority is governed by a seven-member board chaired by Earl Smith, a former Cobb Commission chairman.
Not all Authority members like the merger idea, either.
In a Tuesday e-mail to his colleagues, Authority board member Mayor Bill Dunaway wrote that the "takeover" would be "detrimental" to the city of Marietta.
Dunaway said after the first of the year, no Authority board member would be serving with any background in the hospitality or "visitors" business.
Moreover, "by its very nature, experience and culture, the Authority and its employees are geared to the Galleria area, conventions held there, and hotel room nights. Very little of this business benefits Marietta," he said.
The mayor said he has been associated with the CVB since he started his now shuttered restaurant, the 1848 House, in the 1990s.
"Some of its work was not very great back then. Lately, I think the CVB has greatly improved its efforts for all of Cobb County, including Marietta. I am worried that this improvement will disappear," he said.
Dunaway believes if the CVB does not remain independent, the only proper place for it is under the control of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.
"I do not know the motivations and reasons why the Authority should take over the CVB," Dunaway said.
"I am worried about the 'loss of focus' that could come from this takeover. The Authority and management does such a great job with the Galleria, CEPAC, and conventions, I am concerned that the Authority's efforts will be diluted if they are also trying to run the CVB. Additionally, the Authority still has property that could be sold or utilized. Also, the future of the Galleria Mall is still a consideration. The same 'loss of focus' could happen to the management of the CVB," he wrote.
State Rep. Earl Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs) chairman of the House Rules Committee, is also less than enthusiastic about a merger.
"I'm thankful they decided to put this off. It sounds like cooler heads have prevailed," Ehrhart said.
Ehrhart praised the CVB for the job it does, particularly on such a shoestring budget. Ehrhart said when he looked at other "little podunk" counties in Georgia, and the budgets they provide their visitor bureaus was far more than Cobb's. He said he's asked Cobb Commissioner Tim Lee, who serves on the CVB board, to bring him a proposal so he can fix that with legislation.
Ehrhart said what is needed is a thorough examination of how best to operate the CVB and whether it should be completely independent of the Authority.
Given that the Authority promotes the Galleria area, as it should, that independence is probably needed, he said.
"There's almost a conflict there," he said.
Like Dunaway, Ehrhart suggested a neutral party, such as the Chamber, to run the CVB.
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